


Family

by cloudyjenn



Series: Importance of Souls [2]
Category: His Dark Materials, Supernatural
Genre: Daemonverse, Fluff, M/M, Sam and Cas are friends, written pre-s5
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-12
Updated: 2017-04-12
Packaged: 2018-10-18 03:42:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10608579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cloudyjenn/pseuds/cloudyjenn
Summary: Sam sets Castiel straight on what the ex-angel means to the Winchesters.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Part of my daemonverse. Fluffy repost from LJ.

The first thing Dean noticed when he struggled into his hotel room, one hand grasping a bag of food and a case of beer under the other arm, was the pile of daemons on the floor in front of the tv.

The room was a little nicer than their usual ramshackle abodes because Dean had saved the owner's life during the final battle and she'd offered him the free room as 'the least she could do.'

He kinda got the feeling that she was willing to offer a whole lot more, from the way she squeezed his arm and smiled soft and warm, but then Grace fluttered down onto Celeste's back and she got the point. Not that Grace was trying to make one. More like she didn't know how to not to be totally obvious yet.

Which made what Dean was seeing all the more interesting.

Sam and Castiel were sitting on either end of the typically overstuffed hotel couch, turned towards the television and apparently engrossed in an old rerun of MacGyver. They weren't touching or acknowledging each other's presence in the slightest.

Yet, there on the floor, Astrid had Grace pinned down with one paw while the other very intently groomed Grace's feathers. One wing stretched out under Astrid's paw, Grace laid back and cooed softly, head lolling. For all that their humans were paying attention to them, Grace and Astrid might have belonged to two other people entirely.

It wasn't that he was jealous. It'd take a hell of a lot more than some cuddling to make Dean jealous. Not when he was the one who pulled Castiel deep under the blankets at night and stroked his fingers down Grace's feathers.

Astrid could touch Grace all she wanted, but Dean was the only human allowed that right.

No, he wasn't concerned. Just confused. He'd been with Sam and Castiel almost non-stop for months, so how did he miss them develop a close enough friendship that their daemons felt the need to groom each other?

"Am I interrupting something?"

Dean's voice succeeded in drawing Castiel's attention away from the television, though Sam just flicked his hand in Dean's general direction and continued watching the show. A gentle and secret smile curved the corners of Castiel's mouth. Dean felt his stomach flip over in that pleasant way he'd come to associate with being around Castiel.

"Hello, Dean," Castiel said. "We are watching television."

The depth of feeling behind that statement would have surprised Dean coming from anyone else. Castiel sounded awed at the simplicity of the activity. Dean tried to remember if he'd ever seen Castiel watch tv before and couldn't think of a single time.

"Yeah and how do you like it?"

Celeste approached Astrid and Grace with caution. Dean felt her twin desires to join in the fun and to not intrude.

Indecision didn't suit Dean, but luckily, only a brief moment passed before Grace stood and shook her wings out. She hopped across the floor to Celeste and fluttered up to settle in her usual place, nestled down between Celeste's shoulder blades. A sense of calm fell like a warm cloak around Dean, easing the disquiet he now felt whenever Celeste couldn't touch either Astrid or Grace.

"It's very interesting," Castiel enthused as Dean started setting their food out on the room's one table. "I can see how it must be very useful."

"Useful?" Maybe the news or the weather channel. Dean glanced at the tv, then to Sam's glazed expression. Certainly not MacGyver. "How do you figure that?"

"Your…" Castiel paused and swallowed hard. On Celeste's back, Grace fidgeted and Dean sensed how awkward she felt.

"Our lives," Castiel corrected himself, "are so short. Even if we live for every moment, we cannot possibly accomplish all that this world offers. I always wondered why humans spent any of their time watching television, much less hours in one day. Now I understand that television offers a way for humans to experience that which they cannot in their own lives."

"What, you mean like saving the day with a stick and a band-aid?" Dean asked, smiling. He threw a fortune cookie at Sam's head. "Come on, kid. Soup's on."

"Dude," Sam exclaimed, flinging the cookie back at Dean. "Stop it."

"Hey, I'm just trying to make sure you get your three squares a day," Dean complained as he whipped a pair of chopsticks at Sam like a Frisbee.

This time, Sam caught the chopsticks and just rolled his eyes, but Grace only had a second of warning to shoot off Celeste's back before Astrid was on her. The two daemons rolled end over end across the hotel room floor, biting and batting at one another. Celeste had the size advantage, but Astrid made up for it in cleverness and so, after a few minutes of fighting dirty, Celeste ended up in the same position Grace had been when Dean got back to the room; flat on her back, pinned down by Astrid's paws.

"You suck," Astrid said, smug with her victory that both Sam and Dean knew was somewhat fake. Celeste would never do anything to hurt Astrid.

"Shut up," Celeste growled. "Bitch."

"Jerk," Astrid retorted, baring her teeth in a smile. Grace, who'd retreated to Castiel's shoulder to watch the fight, now flew in a circle over Astrid's head and then landed on it. She peered down at Celeste and Dean had a moment of vertigo as he connected with Celeste, curious about how both Astrid and Grace glaring down at his daemon would look. He laughed at the disparity between Astrid's superiority and Grace's concern.

"Are you alright?" Grace asked in that low throaty tone Celeste loved so well.

"Yes," Celeste confirmed. She rolled over onto her stomach, dislodging Astrid who fell with a whining squeal and Grace, who lived up to her namesake by simply flying back to Castiel's shoulder, not a feather out of place. "Takes more than a pup to damage me."

MacGyver's end credits finally began rolling down the screen and Sam stood, scooping Astrid up into his arms on his way to the table.

"Ha ha," Sam deadpanned. He fell into his chair and started eating over the top of Astrid's head. "I could take you and you know it," he declared after a swallow.

"Yeah, ‘cause I always let you win," Dean shot back.

At his side of the table, Castiel distractedly separated his food into neat little piles as he watched Dean and Sam bickering. He hadn't quite gotten used to eating yet. Dean forced him to eat at every meal to keep his strength up, but Castiel had confessed that the relief of quenching his hunger didn't override the uncomfortable thickness of being full. Not being Castiel's dad, Dean didn't press the issue, but he did make Cas eat at least three times daily, if not very much each time.

"You doing ok there, Cas?" Dean asked. Under the table, Dean felt Celeste lay her head in Castiel's lap where Sam couldn't see it.

Castiel's fingers, strong and sure, carded through the shaggy fur at the back of Celeste's neck and Dean felt profound affection unfold in his chest, sweeping out through the rest of his body.

"It's like television," Castiel said. He sounded casual, but Dean saw right through him. Whatever Castiel was talking about made the ex-angel feel somewhat melancholy, judging by the wistful quality of his tone.

""What's like television?" Dean asked dutifully, passing Castiel an eggroll with a pointed expression. Castiel tore the end off and dug out the insides as he continued talking.

"Watching you and Sam is like watching television," Castiel explained. "It is a way for me to experience what I can't have."

Dean's stomach felt like it tumbled into his knees. He didn't even know what that really meant, but he didn't like it.

"What can't you have? Family?" He pointed his chopstick at Sam and then back at his chest. "And what are we? Chopped liver?"

Castiel's head tipped to an inquisitive angle.

"No," he answered, obviously understanding that Dean didn't literally mean chopped liver, but confused as to what the phrase did mean.

"You are my boyfriend," he said, using the word that Sam taught him last week to drive Dean crazy. "And Sam is my boyfriend's brother. We aren't members of the same family."

"Um, excuse me?"

Dean's angry reply died in his throat at Sam's incredulous outburst. Astrid glared at Castiel, her fur raising on the back of her neck.

"What wrong?" Castiel asked, frowning at them both.

"I'm your boyfriend's brother? That's how you think of me?" Sam was never good at hiding his hurt and this time was no different.

Relieved he wasn't on the receiving end of Sam's kicked puppy expression, Dean sat back in his chair and watched, fascinated. Part of him thought he should probably say or do something, but the image of Astrid nosing through Grace's feathers returned to his mind's eye and he felt a burning curiosity to see where this conversation went.

That and a perverse part of Dean enjoyed watching Castiel experience Sam's ability to make even a simple argument sound like a lover's spat.

"You _are_ my boyfriend's brother," Castiel answered, nonplussed. Dean winced. Castiel still had a lot to learn about humans.

"But that's all you see me as?" Sam pressed. "After everything we've been through, you don't consider me a friend?"

"Ah, no." Castiel's eyes widened. "I mean, yes. No, you misunderstand me, Sam," he said, shifting in discomfort. "I didn't mean to imply that my feelings for you were based only on your relationship with Dean. You are very important to me."

"Fuck, man, get a room," Dean muttered, quickly easing past fascinated and into embarrassed by Castiel's frank admission. Sam and Castiel both ignored him.

"More important than anything?" Sam asked.

Dean raised an eyebrow at him. That question was a bit much, in his opinion, but the intense gleam in Sam's eye convinced Dean to keep his mouth shut. Sam had a point coming up somewhere, Dean felt certain.

"I don't understand," Castiel said. He gathered Grace to his chest and stroked her rapidly like he did when he was nervous. Dean forgot about being annoyed with Castiel and Celeste nuzzled Castiel's knee, hoping to offer comfort.

"Is there anything more important to you than Dean and me?" Sam asked. Challenged actually. "Anything in the world that matters more than what happens to us?"

It hit Dean then where this line of questioning ended and he made a mental note to give Sam a slap on the back later.

"No. Nothing," Castiel answered without hesitation. He dropped a hand away from Grace, under the table to clutch protectively at Celeste, fingers curling into the deep red mark over her shoulder.

Dean sucked in a quick breath. He couldn't get used to the double punch of love and lust that slammed into him whenever Castiel touched that spot on Celeste. It made him hunch forward over the table and clench his box of noodles almost to the point of spilling them across his plate. He'd have to talk to Castiel about doing that in front of other people.

"That's what family is, Cas," Sam said sternly. "So just because you didn't grow up with us doesn't mean you get left out."

"I didn't…" Celeste's fur got knotted in Castiel's fingers. Dean set the box aside and concentrated on drawing deep breaths.

"I didn't want to presume," Castiel murmured as he stared down at destroyed eggroll. "My last family-"

"Screw them," Sam said heatedly. If Dean wasn't focusing so hard on not moaning, he would have reprimanded Sam. Not that he didn't agree, but Castiel still loved his former brothers and Dean didn't want his feelings hurt.

"I'm sorry, Cas, but family that leaves you behind is no family at all." Astrid laid her head on the table and turned kind eyes on Grace, who took a cautious step towards her, still unsure of her welcome. "You think you can't know what it's like to have a brother? Well, think again."

Coaxing Grace forward, Astrid waited until Grace perched on her paw, then transferred Grace to her shoulder.

"I'm your brother."

"I…I see," Castiel said. His eyes remained fixed on his plate, but his tone had changed, lightened with pleasure.

"So presume all you want," Sam offered. His tone lightened as well, lost its intensity and turned teasing. "Take some lessons from Dean."

Castiel finally removed his hand from Celeste and she sunk to the floor in a boneless heap, leaving Dean gasping for breath. When he didn't respond to the teasing, Sam peered at him.

"Dude, are you ok?"

"Yeah," Dean panted. "I was just thinking. If Cas is your brother, does that mean all those fangirls online were right about me and incest?"

Sam rolled his eyes and glanced sidelong at Castiel.

"Him? Really? Are you sure you want to be stuck with him for the rest of your life?"

A smile grew on Castiel's face. "It will be difficult, but I must carry on."

Dean and Sam stared at him. Then Dean crossed his arms over his chest and leaned his chair back on two legs, glaring at Castiel while Sam started laughing.

"What was that you said about watching something you can't experience?"

From the floor, Celeste shook off her glaze of sleepy pleasure and tackled Astrid and Grace. The three rolled into a tight confused knot and Dean felt a hundred emotions course through his veins. Affection, surprise, happiness, gratitude, mischievousness.

Love.

"You suck," Sam said, punching Dean's arm.

"Yeah, I know."

* * *

 


End file.
